Rewards program

ABSTRACT

The rewards program system and method provide an efficient and effective way for customers to enroll in rewards programs, and accrue and redeem rewards at participating merchants. The system generates promotions, analyzes transaction data to identify whether a customer used a promotion, issued by the system (e.g., promotions provider), with a merchant. When the customer redeems a promotion, the system accrues reward amounts in a customer account, and allows the customer to redeem accrued rewards amounts. The system generates credit card profiles and customer profiles, and offers customers subsequent promotions based on the transaction data and/or the customer&#39;s customer profile. The system issues the customer subsequent promotions when the amount credited to the rewards account satisfies a redemption threshold. The subsequent promotions may be redeemable at merchants that have promotions issued by the promotion provider, including the merchant where the promotion was used that resulted in the credited amount.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation and claims the benefit of U.S.application Ser. No. 16/734,770, titled “Rewards Program,” filed on Jan.6, 2020, which is a continuation and claims the benefit of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/160,142, titled “Rewards Program,” filed on May20, 2016, which is a continuation and claims the benefit of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/796,695, filed on Mar. 12, 2013, which is anon-provisional application that claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/623,472, filed Apr. 12, 2012, the entirecontents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present description relates to an efficient and effective way forcustomers to enroll in rewards programs, and to accrue and redeemrewards at participating merchants. This description more specificallyrelates to analyzing transaction data to identify a customer profile,offering promotions to the customer based on the customer profile,determining whether a customer used a promotion issued by a promotionsprovider, and in response to using the promotion, crediting a rewardsaccount.

BACKGROUND

Merchants typically offer rewards programs in the hope of enticingcustomers to return for repeat business. However, customers typicallyavoid enrolling in the rewards programs because of the burden oftracking the rewards for each merchant separately, and managing the manyrewards cards used to accrue rewards for each merchant.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The rewards program system and method provide an efficient and effectiveway for customers to enroll in rewards programs, and accrue and redeemrewards at participating merchants. The system generates promotions, andwhen the customer redeems a promotion, the system accrues reward amountsin a customer account, and allows the customer to redeem accrued rewardsamounts. The system may accrue the rewards based on customer cashtransactions, visits, and/or various other interactions between themerchant and the customer. The system generates credit card profiles andcustomer profiles, and offers customers subsequent promotions based onthe transaction data and/or the customer's customer profile. The systemissues the customer subsequent promotions when the amount credited tothe rewards account satisfies a redemption threshold. The subsequentpromotions may be redeemable at merchants that have promotions issued bythe promotion provider, including the merchant where the promotion wasused that resulted in the credited amount.

The rewards program system and method provide a way for a promotionprovider to credit a rewards account associated with a customer. Thesystem includes one or more memories and a processor in communicationwith at least one of the one or more memories. The processor isconfigured to execute processor executable instructions stored in theone or more memories. The instructions cause the processor to accesstransaction data that identifies a transaction between a customer and amerchant, and access customer unique payment information (such as acredit card number) correlated to the customer. The transaction data mayinclude a merchant identifier, credit card information, and atransaction amount. The customer unique payment information may bederived from interaction of the customer with the promotion provider(such as by using the credit card number to pay for a promotion issuedby the promotion provider). The processor may determine whether thetransaction data includes the customer unique payment information. Ifso, the instructions credit to a rewards account associated with thecustomer. The credit to the rewards account may be based on thetransaction amount, and may be associated with the merchant. Further,the system may redeem the credit to the rewards account by issuing apromotion, via the promotion provider. The promotion may be based on thecredit to the rewards account and may be for use at the merchant.

Other systems, methods, and features will be, or will become, apparentto one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figuresand detailed description. It is intended that all such additionalsystems, methods, features and be included within this description, bewithin the scope of the disclosure, and be protected by the followingclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The rewards program system may be better understood with reference tothe following drawings and description. Non-limiting and non-exhaustivedescriptions are described with reference to the following drawings. Thecomponents in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis insteadbeing placed upon illustrating principles. In the figures, likereferenced numerals may refer to like parts throughout the differentfigures unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of the rewards program system.

FIG. 2 shows transaction data from a transaction between a customer anda merchant.

FIG. 3 shows a representation of a transaction processing systemprocessing a credit card transaction.

FIG. 4 shows customer rewards accounts.

FIG. 5 shows customer profile model.

FIG. 6 shows components of the rewards program system.

FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of logic the rewards program system may use.

FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of logic the rewards program system may usewhen identifying a rewards program transaction.

FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram of other logic the rewards program systemmay use.

FIG. 10 shows another configuration of the rewards program system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The principles described herein may be embodied in many different forms.Not all of the depicted components may be required, however, and someimplementations may include additional, different, or fewer components.Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the claims as set forthherein. Additional, different or fewer components may be provided.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration 100 of the rewards program system 102. Apromotions provider may use the rewards program system 102 to offerconsumers an easy way to enroll in multiple rewards programs withmultiple merchants (e.g., a single registration for customers to receiverewards from merchants the customers do business with). The rewardsprogram system 102 may be in communication with member merchants (104,106). The promotions provider may use the rewards program system 102 todevelop services for and/or acquire information from other non-membermerchants (108, 110) not in communication with or not registered withthe rewards program system 102. The rewards program system 102 maintainsa member profile (e.g., generated by models 112) of the member merchants(104, 106) in communication with the rewards program system 102, andstatistical analysis for each of the member merchants (104, 106).

The rewards program system 102 is configured to be a part of (or receivedata from) a promotion system that registers customer payment data(e.g., a credit card number). After registration, the rewards programsystem 102 may review transaction information 114 (which may includecredit card numbers) in order for the rewards program system 102 tocredit customers for transactions that are external to the promotionsystem.

For example, the customer may register with the rewards program system102, thereby joining a single loyalty/rewards program. The customer'sregistration may comprise submitting the customer's unique paymentinformation (e.g., a credit card number, debit card number, or the like)in order to purchase a promotion offered by a promotion system or in thecontext of submitting the customer's unique payment information toregister with the promotion system. A promotion may include any type ofreward, discount, coupon, credit, voucher or the like used toward part(or all) of the purchase of a product or a service. As discussed above,the rewards program system 102 may be a part of (or receive data from)the promotion system in order to obtain access to the unique paymentinformation. Thereafter, the rewards program system 102 uses the uniquepayment information to review transactions between the customers andother entities (such as merchants who are registered or not registeredwith the rewards program system 102) in order to credit the customers inthe rewards program.

As one example, the rewards program system 102 may review transactioninformation for unique rewards account information (such as thecustomer's unique payment information, a customer identifier, a merchantidentifier, a promotion, etc.) in order to determine whether to creditthe customer for a transaction, as discussed in more detail below. Inthis regard, although referred to as “unique” rewards accountinformation, the information may not be entirely unique, but need onlyprovide enough specificity to enable the promotion provider to identifya particular customer, merchant, or rewards account. In this way, thecustomer's interaction with the promotion system enables tracking andcrediting of transactions that are external to the promotion system.

The rewards program system 102 may communicate with member customers(116, 118) via preferences selected (e.g., email, voice mail,multimedia, physical mail) by the member customers (116, 118). In thecontext of the rewards program 102 being a part of the promotion system,the rewards program system 102 includes a registration process where themember customers (116, 118) provide unique rewards account information,such as one or more credit card numbers (120, 122), a phone number, orwallet token number, that the rewards program system 102 may use as acustomer identifier when subsequently reviewing the transactioninformation 114. A customer (116, 118) may provide a credit card number(120, 122) in order to complete a transaction to purchase a reward 124offered by the rewards program system 102, and/or create/update acustomer profile to include multiple credit card numbers. Alternatively,the rewards program system 102 may be in communication with thepromotion system in order to receive the customer's credit card number.

The rewards program system 102 provides merchants (104, 106) with anefficient and effective rewards program without the merchants expendingadditional resources to manage the rewards program. In particular, therewards program system 102 uses the transaction information 114 that isalready generated when the customer pays by credit card, debit card, orthe like. So that, the merchant can use the existing payment mechanisms,such as the existing credit card payment mechanism, in order toparticipate in the rewards program.

The rewards program system 102 also may track (e.g., using manual orautomated procedures) any interaction between a customer and merchant.For example, the customer paying with cash, visiting the merchant (e.g.,with friends of the customer, without completing a transaction with acredit card), interacting with a special offer (e.g., a customerredeeming a coupon without a transaction). Anything that matches thecustomer at the merchant that could be tracked by both.

The rewards program system 102 may optionally include additionalfunctionality, such as providing a way to track redemptions 126 andissue rewards 124 for multiple types of transactions (e.g., a promotionredemption transaction and a cash/credit transaction 132). The rewardsprogram system 102 may use rewards models 128 to generate and recommendhigh return on investment rewards 124 to customers and merchants. Therewards program system 102 uses the multiple types of transactions andthe purchase behaviors of the customers, as determined from thetransaction data 114, to develop customer profiles 112 for membercustomers (116, 118) and non-member customers 130.

As discussed in more detail below, customers and merchants may beregistered with the rewards program system 102. In the context of acustomer (116, 118), after registration, the rewards program system 102correlates unique rewards account information, such as the credit cardinformation, customer identifier (e.g., the customer's email address,telephone number, wallet token number, etc.), and/or purchasedpromotions to a customer (116, 118). Accordingly, the rewards programsystem 102 may review transaction data (that may include the credit cardnumber, customer identifier, and/or an indication of a promotion) inorder to determine whether the transaction data is associated with aregistered customer. Likewise, merchants may be registered with therewards program system. In the context of merchants 104, afterregistration, the rewards system 102 correlates the merchant identifierto a registered merchant. In this way, the rewards program system 102may review the transaction data (that includes merchant identifiers) todetermine whether the merchants are registered.

As discussed in more detail below, the rewards program system isconfigured to identify at least four different scenarios. First, therewards program system is configured to identify a registered customerthat interacts (such as completes a transaction) with a registeredmerchant. The rewards program system, in turn, may credit the registeredcustomer's rewards account with the transaction at the registeredmerchant. Further, the rewards program system may compile a list ofknown customers (including the registered customer) in order to provideinformation to the registered merchant (such as providing profiles ofthe registered merchant's customers, providing information on potentialdeals for the registered merchant, etc.).

Second, the rewards program system is configured to identify aregistered customer that interacts with a non-registered merchant. Anon-registered merchant is a merchant that does not participate in therewards program; however, the rewards program system may track theactivity and/or identify of the non-registered merchant. The rewardsprogram system may use this information to profile the registeredcustomer. Third, the rewards program system is configured to identify anon-registered customer that interacts with a registered merchant. Therewards program system may use this information to profile theregistered merchant. Further, the rewards program system may profile thenon-registered customer (such as based on all transactions associatedwith the non-registered customer's credit card). Fourth, the rewardsprogram system is configured to identify a non-registered customer thatinteracts with a non-registered merchant. The rewards program system 102provides a way to offer rewards to customers for multiple types oftransactions, (e.g., purchases of products and/or services using cash,credit, coupon discounts, and accrued rewards).

FIG. 2 shows transaction data 200 from an example transaction 132between a customer 116 and a merchant 104. In this case, the transactionis a card transaction. The rewards program system 102 may use a matchingalgorithm to analyze the transaction data (e.g., a hash function). Therewards program system 102 identifies each member merchant (104, 106) bya merchant identifier 202. The transaction data (114, 200) identifiesthe customer (e.g., credit card information 204 that may refer to acredit account, debit account, and/or a merchant account), the merchant,and the transaction information 206 (e.g., transaction amount,transaction date, transaction currencies). When the rewards programsystem 102 receives transaction data 200 (e.g., in real-time or afterthe transaction), the rewards program system 102 directs (e.g.,associates and/or attributes) each transaction to a merchant (e.g.,using the merchant identifier 202). When credit card information 204 fora transaction is available, the rewards program system 102 may identifythe merchant by the merchant identifier 202.

The rewards program system 102 aggregates data to determine thetransactions associated with a credit card (120, 122, 204), and analyzesthe credit card transaction history. When the credit card (120, 122,204) is identified to belong to a registered customer (116, 118) (e.g.,a customer who has joined the loyalty/rewards program offered by therewards program system 102 and/or purchase a promotion from the rewardsprogram system 102 using the credit card 120, 122), the rewards programsystem 102 uses the transaction data to identify one or more merchantswith whom the customer transacted business. The rewards program system102 may use a database that correlates the names of customers and creditcard numbers (120, 122, 204), so that when the user uses the credit card(120, 122, 204) at the merchant, the rewards program system 102 canidentify the customer.

The transaction information (114, 200) identifies the merchants at whichthe customer shopped, how much the customer spent at the variousmerchants, and the amount of rewards accrued by the customer (e.g.,accrued reward amount). The rewards program system 102 performs customerpurchase behavior analysis and determines discounts and rewards offersof complementary promotions, goods, and/or services to present to thecustomer (e.g. promotions selected on the basis of the customer'sprofile and purchase behavior). In addition, other systems may interfacewith the rewards program system 102 to use the analysis and transactiondata to identify offers to present to customers. The rewards programsystem 102 may filter out (e.g., avoid) unnecessary advertisement andofferings selling promotions to low return on investment customers(e.g., new customers already captured by the merchant, or customers whohave stopped patronizing the merchant).

FIG. 3 shows a representation 300 of a transaction processing systemprocessing a credit card transaction. The example of the credit cardtransaction is merely for illustration purposes. Other types of cardtransactions, such as debit card transactions or charge cardtransactions, are contemplated. When a consumer 302 (e.g., customer)uses a credit card to complete a transaction, the consumer 302 presentsthe credit card (e.g., a Visa® credit card). The credit card includes acredit card number 304, which identifies the type of card 306, the cardissuing bank 308, and the consumer's account 310. The merchant (e.g.,merchant system 312) inputs the credit card number 304 (such as byswiping the credit card through a machine that reads information fromthe magnetic stripe on the back of the card or by manually inputting thecredit card number), and inputs the transaction amount (e.g., on thekeypad in the merchant system 312). When the consumer 302 (e.g.,customer) uses a credit card to purchase a promotion and/or register(i.e., enroll) in a rewards program from the rewards program system 102,similar data exchange that occurs between the consumer 302 and themerchant system 312 and the merchant system 312 and the acquiring banksystem 316 may occur. The merchant system 312 sends an authorizationrequest 314 to the acquiring bank system 316, which is the bank thathandles the merchant's credit card account, in order to obtainauthorization for the transaction. The authorization request 314 mayinclude a merchant identifier 318 (or other type of transactionidentifier), the card number 304, optionally a reward logic identifier320, and a transaction amount 322. The acquiring bank system 316 in turnforwards the authorization request 314 to the card processing system324, which may use a card router 326 to identify a card issuing banksystem 328 corresponding to the credit card number 304 and to forwardthe authorization request 314 to the card issuing bank system 328.

The card issuing bank system 328 is the bank that issued the credit card304 to the consumer 302, and maintains up-to-date information on theconsumer's account 330 (e.g., account balance and account status). Thecard issuing bank system 328 may maintain a promotion database 332, anda consumer profile database 334. Alternatively, the rewards programsystem 102 may maintain the promotion database 332, and the consumerprofile database 334, and/or a separate consumer profile database 334.The merchant system 312 and/or the rewards program system 102 mayperiodically communicate updates 336 to the promotion database 332,while the consumer 302 periodically communicates updates 338 to theconsumer profile database 334.

The card issuing bank system 328 determines whether to authorize thetransaction for the transaction amount. The card issuing bank systemexamines the customer account 330 of the consumer 302 to determinewhether the customer account 330 has sufficient credit balance to coverthe transaction. If so, the card issuing bank system 328 authorizes thetransaction and generates an authorization code 340. The authorizationcode 340 is sent back to the acquiring bank system 316 (through the cardprocessing system 324), which sends the authorization code 340 as anapproval or denial code to the merchant system 312 that sent theauthorization request 314. In one embodiment, the authorization code 340may optionally include a promotion identifier 342 and a promotion value344 that identifies a redeemable value amount for the promotionidentified by the promotion identifier 342.

The card processing system 324 may also coordinate the transfer of fundsfrom the card issuing bank system 328, which pays for the transactionand extends credit to the consumer 302, to the acquiring bank system316, which holds an account in the merchant's name. The actual transferof money between the acquiring bank system 316 and the issuing banksystem 328, and the actual debiting of the consumer's account 330typically may not occur until sometime after authorization of thetransaction (e.g., a day or two after the actual transaction date). Inthe meantime, the issuing bank system 328 usually places a pendingcharge on the consumer's account 330, and counts the transaction againstthe consumer's remaining available credit limit even though thetransaction has not yet cleared. In the context of the presenttransaction processing system, in which transactions for promotions,rewards, or specific products/services are processed, the reconciliationfor authorization of the promotion, reward, or specific product/servicemay occur contemporaneously with the authorization, or may occur at alater time (such as a day or two after the authorization).

As discussed above, the transaction processing system may process creditcards, debit cards, and/or charge cards. A charge card requires that thecardholder pay off the balance in full each month, and may not have apreset limit. Instead, purchases are approved based on the cardholdersspending and payment history, financial resources and credit record. Adebit card (also known as a bank card or check card) is a card thatprovides a customer 302 with electronic access to the customer's bankaccount(s) at a financial institution.

FIG. 4 shows customer rewards accounts 400. The rewards program system102 includes logic that processes and handles multiple types oftransactions 114. For example, the customer 402 may have multipletransactions with a merchant (e.g., member merchant), including apromotion redemption transaction 404 (e.g., $25) from the rewardsprogram system 102 and a cash/credit transaction 406 (e.g., $100) thatdoes not involve the rewards program system 102. The rewards programsystem 102 receives transaction data 114 and/or determines when thecustomer 402 redeems a coupon from the rewards program system 102. Therewards program system may not be involved in the transaction, and maydetermine or receive information about the cash/credit transactionindirectly. For example, the merchant 104 (e.g., member merchant) maycommunicate the cash/credit transaction 406 to the rewards programsystem 102. Alternatively, the rewards program system 102 may retrievethe cash/credit transaction 132 from the merchant 104 or from a thirdparty source 134.

In addition to reviewing card transactions between the customer and themerchant, the rewards program system 102 is configured to identify whena transaction involves redemption of a promotion, and to accrue a rewardamount (408, 410) for each transaction (404, 406, 414, 416, 418, 420)that involves redemption of the promotion. The rewards program system102 may accrue a reward amount (408, 410) for both customers (402, 412)and merchants. The rewards program system 102 may allow customers toredeem the accrued reward amount (408, 410) when the accrued rewardamount (408, 410) satisfies one or more accrued reward amountthresholds. The rewards program system 102 may allow customers (402,412) to redeem the accrued reward amount (408, 410) at a membermerchant, for whom the reward discount coupons were issued, or anymember merchants of the rewards program system 102, or any non-membermerchants, or any combination thereof. When the rewards program system102 identifies that a merchant received a coupon for a coupon redemptiontransaction (404, 416) (e.g., $25, $75) and/or completed a cash/credittransaction (e.g., $100), the rewards program system 102 calculates oneor more rewards (408, 410) (e.g., accrued rewards) for the membercustomers (402, 412). For example, the accrued rewards (408, 410)calculated by the rewards program system 102 may be for a couponredeemed with the merchant that issued the original coupon, or multiplemerchants, or another merchant other than merchant that issued theoriginal coupon.

FIG. 5 shows customer profile model 500. The rewards program system 102develops new unique rewards account information and/or identifiesexisting unique rewards account information, such as customer profiles(e.g., distinguishing characteristics of customers generally andcustomer profiles specific to respective merchants) and credit cardprofiles (e.g., distinguishing characteristics of credit cards usagegenerally and/or compatible customer profile types), based on thetransaction data 114. The rewards program system 102 provides analysisto other systems regarding the types of customers (e.g., customer typesand/or specific customers when a customer's identity is known) to targetgenerally and/or target using the rewards program. The rewards programsystem 102 may determine or use another system to determine the types ofcustomers to target by categorizing customer profiles and credit cardprofiles into various levels of granularity (e.g., age, age ranges 502,gender, home address, distance from reward 518 and other demographicinformation). The rewards program system 102 and/or another system maygenerate multi-dimensional matrices (500) to determine the types ofcustomers a merchant may want to target. For example, the rewardsprogram system 102 may identify male customers in a 2 mile radius of amerchant (e.g., a rewards program coupon discount offering) andcategories (504, 506) and subcategories (508, 510, 512, 514) of productsand services (e.g., sporting good, tennis rackets, hockey sticks,baseball bats, tennis shoes, basketball shoes) available for offer tocustomers. Each node 516 (e.g., row-column dimension) of the profilesmodel multidimensional matrix includes a calculated probability of aparticular customer profile and or the customer of accepting a rewardoffer. The profiles model multidimensional matrix may be used togenerate credit card profiles.

The rewards program system 102 may provide the customer profiles andcredit card profiles to other systems (e.g., to identify both member andnon-member customers to target to present coupon discounts offering).The rewards program system 102 analyzes the customer profiles and/orcredit card profiles to determine the appropriate types of coupondiscount offerings (e.g., for which products and services) to offer tocustomers and the appropriate customers to offer such coupon discountofferings. The rewards program system 102 identifies those coupondiscount offerings to avoid because of a high probability that customerswill purchase the product and/or service with or without a coupondiscount offerings.

FIG. 6 shows components 600 of the rewards program system 102. Thecomponents of the rewards program system 102 may be in communication viaa network (e.g., Internet) 602. The rewards program system 102 maydevelop credit card profiles 606 to identify customers to targetpromotions. Member merchants 604 may register with the rewards programsystem 102 to implement a loyalty and/or rewards program, andparticipate in offering promotions to customers, and receive customersprofiles and customers profile type information 608. Member customers612 may register with the rewards program system 102 to receive rewardsdiscounts (e.g., promotions).

The rewards program system 102 may include one or more rewards programmodels 614 used to generate rewards programs (e.g., using a rewardsgenerator 616) to recommend rewards (e.g., promotions) to customersand/or potential customers (e.g., non-member customers 646). The rewardsgenerator 616 may generate a list of rewards 620 and use a return oninvestment (ROI) ranker 622 to rank (624) the rewards according to apredicted return for each reward identified by the list of rewards 620.The rewards program system 102 may use the ranked rewards 624 toidentify real-time rewards adjustments 626 to the rewards generator 616and communicate rewards refinements 628 to the rewards generator 616.The rewards program models 614 may also receive redeemed rewards 630information to assist in refining rewards generator 616.

The rewards program system 102 may include one or more customer profilemodels and credit card profile models 632 used to generate profiles andprofile types (e.g., using a profiles generator 634). The profilesgenerator 634 may generate a list of profiles 636 (e.g., customerprofiles and credit card profiles, and customer profiles types andcredit card profiles types) and use a return on investment (ROI) ranker638 to rank (640) the profiles and profile types according to apredicted return for each of the profiles and profiles types identifiedby the list of profiles 636. For example, the ROI ranker 638 maydetermine the ROI for a customer, a credit card, and/or profile types ofcustomers resulting from the use of the rewards programs generated bythe rewards program system 102. The rewards program system 102 may usethe ranked profiles 640 to identify real-time profile and profile typeadjustments 642 to the profiles generator 634 and communicate profilesrefinements 644 to the profiles generator 634.

The rewards program system 102 may use the customer profiles and/orcredit card profiles analysis to demonstrate ROI statisticalprobabilities (e.g., guarantees) to non-member customers to encourageregistration as member customers of the rewards program system. Therewards program system 102 may use the customers profiles analysis andcustomer demographics (e.g., identifying customers and/or customerprofiles) to develop rewards program strategies.

FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of logic 700 the rewards program system mayuse. The rewards program system logic implements a method that includesaccessing, in at least one memory, transaction data between customersand merchants for purchases by the customers of goods and/or servicesoffered by merchants (702). The transaction data includes a transactionrecord for transactions between merchants and customers, an example ofwhich is illustrated in FIG. 2. The rewards program system 102 accessesat least a part of the transaction data (such as the credit cardinformation 204) and searches a rewards database to identifycorresponding unique rewards account information, such as a customerprofile, in the rewards database (704). When the rewards program system102 identifies unique rewards account information, such as a customerprofile, in the rewards database (e.g., a credit card information 204 inthe transaction data matches a credit card number in the rewardsdatabase), the rewards program system 102 determines whether themerchant is a member merchant in one or more rewards programs generatedby the rewards program system 102 (706). For example, the rewardsprogram system 102 accesses at least a part of the transaction data(such as the merchant identifier 202) and searches a merchant databaseto identify a merchant profile in the merchant database. When themerchant is identified as a member merchant, the rewards program system102 stores the transaction amount in the identified customer profile andcorrelates the transaction amount and identified customer profile withthe identified member merchant (708). When the merchant is notidentified as a member merchant, the rewards program system 102 storesthe transaction amount in the identified customer profile and correlatesthe transaction amount and identified customer profile with the merchant(e.g., non-member merchant) (710).

When the rewards program system 102 does not identify the customerprofile in the rewards database, the rewards program system 102 searchesa non-rewards database to identify the credit card number (712). Whenthe credit card number is identified in the non-rewards database, therewards program system 102 stores the transaction amount with theidentified credit card number in a credit card profile and correlatesthe transaction amount and identified credit card number with themerchant (714). In this instance, the rewards program system 102 haspreviously reviewed transaction data associated with the credit cardnumber, and has previously created a credit card profile. When thecredit card number is not identified in the non-rewards database, therewards program system 102 creates new unique rewards accountinformation, in this case a credit card profile, for the credit cardnumber, and stores the transaction amount with the credit card number inthe created credit card profile and correlates the transaction amountand credit card number with the merchant (714).

FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of logic 800 the rewards program system mayuse when identifying a rewards program transaction. The rewards programsystem logic implements a method that includes accessing, in at leastone memory, transaction data between customers and merchants forpurchases by the customers of goods and/or services offered by merchants(802). The transaction data includes a transaction record for eachtransaction between merchants and customers. The rewards program system102 determines whether the transaction record identifies a promotiontransaction that identifies a transaction completed using a promotiongenerated by the promotion system (804). When the transaction recordidentifies a promotion transaction (e.g., redeeming a coupon discount),the rewards program system identifies the member customer (806) andaccrues rewards for the member customer and the member merchant. Whenthe accrued rewards satisfy a redemption threshold, the rewards programsystem may notify the member customer and the member merchant. When theaccrued rewards satisfy the redemption threshold, the member customer,or the member merchant, or another member merchant, or any combinationthereof, may receive a promotion or a redemption amount to use for acurrent transaction (e.g., real-time notice) or future transaction. Thenotice to the member customer may be via preferences selected (e.g.,email, voice mail, multimedia, physical mail).

FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram 900 of other logic the rewards programsystem may use. The rewards program system logic implements a methodthat includes accessing, in at least one memory, transaction databetween customers and merchants for purchases by the customers of goodsand/or services offered by merchants (902). The transaction dataincludes a transaction record for each transaction between merchants andcustomers. The rewards program system 102 determines whether thetransaction record identifies a promotion transaction that identifies atransaction completed using a promotion generated by the promotionsystem (904). When the transaction record identifies a promotiontransaction (e.g., redeeming a coupon discount), a member customer and amember merchant to the rewards program transaction may be identified,and the rewards program system accrues rewards for the member customerand the member merchant (906). When the accrued rewards satisfy aredemption threshold the rewards program system may notify the membercustomer and the member merchant. When the accrued rewards satisfy theredemption threshold the member customer, or the member merchant, oranother member merchant, or any combination thereof, may receive apromotion or a redemption amount to use for a current transaction (e.g.,real-time notice) or future transaction. The notice to the membercustomer may be via preferences selected (e.g., email, voice mail,multimedia, physical mail). The rewards program system uses thetransaction data to generate and/or update a customer profile for themember customer, and a credit card profile (908). The rewards programsystem also uses the transaction data to generate and/or update customerprofile types (e.g., identify types of customers), and credit cardprofile types (e.g., identify types of credit card usage) (910). Therewards program system calculates a rewards program transaction returnon investment (ROI) for the rewards program transaction for the membercustomers, and generates a rewards program strategy to offer promotionsto customers based on the customer profile, or the customer profiletypes, or the credit card profile, or the credit card profile types, orthe rewards program transaction ROI, or any combination thereof.

When the transaction record does not identify a rewards programtransaction, the rewards program system may identify whether thetransaction is a cash transaction or a credit card transaction (912).When the customer uses cash for the transaction, the merchant may enterthe amount paid in cash by the customer into a point of sale device andenter a customer identifier (e.g., the customer's email address,telephone number, wallet token number) associated with the customer'srewards account. The rewards program system may store the customeridentifier as unique rewards account information in the customer'sprofile. In practice, the rewards program system may receive the cashtransaction information (which includes the customer identifier and thecash transaction amount), identify the customer using the customeridentifier (by searching for the identifier in customer profiles), andcredit the identified customer with the cash transaction. In this way,the rewards program system may incent the customer to share an emailaddress when paying with cash. The rewards program system may receivefrom member merchants an email address for non-member customerscompleting cash transactions and track transactions (e.g., accruepotential rewards) for the email address used by the non-membercustomer, and email rewards to the non-member customer and offer toconvert the non-member customer's account into a regular rewards account(e.g., create a rewards account) and thereby make the customer a membercustomer of the rewards program system.

When the transaction record identifies the transaction as a credit cardtransaction, the rewards program system may generate a credit cardprofile for the identified credit card number (914), even though theidentity of the customer may not be known (e.g., the credit card numbermay be from a non-member customer or the rewards program system may haveanother/different credit card number associated with the membercustomer). The rewards program system attempts to match the credit cardnumber and/or the transaction record (e.g., a cash transaction) with amember customer and identify a member merchant from the transactionrecord (916). When the rewards program system identifies a membercustomer and/or a member merchant the rewards program system accruesrewards for the member customer and the member merchant (906) andgenerates and/or updates a customer profile for the member customer(908). The rewards program system also uses the transaction data togenerate and/or update customer profile types and credit card profiletypes (910).

FIG. 10 shows another configuration 1000 of the rewards program system102. The rewards program system 102 may include a processor 1002 coupledto a communications interface 1004 in communication with components ofthe configuration via a network. The rewards program system 102 includesone or more computer readable memories 1006 that include transactiondata 1008, credit cards information 1010 (e.g., one or more credit cardnumbers 1012 used as a customer identifiers), transaction amount 1014,and merchant identifiers 1016. The computer readable memories 1006 mayalso include various data to implement and maintain a rewards programfor merchants, and produce analysis to offer merchants guaranteesregarding the rewards to offer and the customers and customer profiletypes to target.

The rewards program system 102 may be deployed as a general computersystem used in a networked deployment. The computer system may operatein the capacity of a server or as a client user computer in aserver-client user network environment, or as a peer computer system ina peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The computer systemmay also be implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such asa personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wirelesstelephone, a land-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner,a facsimile machine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, aweb appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machinecapable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise)that specify actions to be taken by that machine. In a particularembodiment, the computer system may be implemented using electronicdevices that provide voice, video or data communication. Further, whilea single computer system may be illustrated, the term “system” shallalso be taken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems thatindividually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructionsto perform one or more computer functions.

The computer system may include a processor, such as, a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both. Theprocessor may be a component in a variety of systems. For example, theprocessor may be part of a standard personal computer or a workstation.The processor may be one or more general processors, digital signalprocessors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmablegate arrays, servers, networks, digital circuits, analog circuits,combinations thereof, or other now known or later developed devices foranalyzing and processing data. The processors and memories discussedherein, as well as the claims below, may be embodied in and implementedin one or multiple physical chips or circuit combinations. The processormay execute a software program, such as code generated manually (i.e.,programmed).

The computer system may include a memory that can communicate via a bus.The memory may be a main memory, a static memory, or a dynamic memory.The memory may include, but may not be limited to computer readablestorage media such as various types of volatile and non-volatile storagemedia, including but not limited to random access memory, read-onlymemory, programmable read-only memory, electrically programmableread-only memory, electrically erasable read-only memory, flash memory,magnetic tape or disk, optical media and the like. In one case, thememory may include a cache or random access memory for the processor.Alternatively or in addition, the memory may be separate from theprocessor, such as a cache memory of a processor, the memory, or othermemory. The memory may be an external storage device or database forstoring data. Examples may include a hard drive, compact disc (“CD”),digital video disc (“DVD”), memory card, memory stick, floppy disc,universal serial bus (“USB”) memory device, or any other deviceoperative to store data. The memory may be operable to storeinstructions executable by the processor. The functions, acts or tasksillustrated in the figures or described herein may be performed by theprogrammed processor executing the instructions stored in the memory.The functions, acts or tasks may be independent of the particular typeof instructions set, storage media, processor or processing strategy andmay be performed by software, hardware, integrated circuits, firm-ware,micro-code and the like, operating alone or in combination. Likewise,processing strategies may include multiprocessing, multitasking,parallel processing and the like.

The computer system may further include a display, such as a liquidcrystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a flatpanel display, a solid state display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), aprojector, a printer or other now known or later developed displaydevice for outputting determined information. The display may act as aninterface for the user to see the functioning of the processor, orspecifically as an interface with the software stored in the memory orin the drive unit.

Additionally, the computer system may include an input device configuredto allow a user to interact with any of the components of system. Theinput device may be a number pad, a keyboard, or a cursor controldevice, such as a mouse, or a joystick, touch screen display, remotecontrol or any other device operative to interact with the system.

The computer system may also include a disk or optical drive unit. Thedisk drive unit may include a computer-readable medium in which one ormore sets of instructions, e.g. software, can be embedded. Further, theinstructions may perform one or more of the methods or logic asdescribed herein. The instructions may reside completely, or at leastpartially, within the memory and/or within the processor duringexecution by the computer system. The memory and the processor also mayinclude computer-readable media as discussed above.

The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium thatincludes instructions or receives and executes instructions responsiveto a propagated signal, so that a device connected to a network maycommunicate voice, video, audio, images or any other data over thenetwork. Further, the instructions may be transmitted or received overthe network via a communication interface. The communication interfacemay be a part of the processor or may be a separate component. Thecommunication interface may be created in software or may be a physicalconnection in hardware. The communication interface may be configured toconnect with a network, external media, the display, or any othercomponents in system, or combinations thereof. The connection with thenetwork may be a physical connection, such as a wired Ethernetconnection or may be established wirelessly as discussed below.Likewise, the additional connections with other components of the DCBRsystem 102 may be physical connections or may be established wirelessly.In the case of a service provider server, the service provider servermay communicate with users through the communication interface.

The network may include wired networks, wireless networks, orcombinations thereof. The wireless network may be a cellular telephonenetwork, an 802.11, 802.16, 802.20, or WiMax network. Further, thenetwork may be a public network, such as the Internet, a privatenetwork, such as an intranet, or combinations thereof, and may utilize avariety of networking protocols now available or later developedincluding, but not limited to TCP/IP based networking protocols.

The computer-readable medium may be a single medium, or thecomputer-readable medium may be a single medium or multiple media, suchas a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches andservers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” may also include any medium that may becapable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions forexecution by a processor or that may cause a computer system to performany one or more of the methods or operations disclosed herein.

The computer-readable medium may include a solid-state memory such as amemory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. The computer-readable medium also may be a randomaccess memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally, thecomputer-readable medium may include a magneto-optical or opticalmedium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capturecarrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmissionmedium. A digital file attachment to an email or other self-containedinformation archive or set of archives may be considered a distributionmedium that may be a tangible storage medium. The computer-readablemedium may comprise a tangible storage medium. In some embodiments, thecomputer-readable medium may comprise a non-transitory medium.Accordingly, the disclosure may be considered to include any one or moreof a computer-readable medium or a distribution medium and otherequivalents and successor media, in which data or instructions may bestored.

Alternatively or in addition, dedicated hardware implementations, suchas application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arraysand other hardware devices, may be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods described herein. Applications that may include theapparatus and systems of various embodiments may broadly include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that may be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, thepresent system may encompass software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

The methods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. Further, implementations may includedistributed processing, component/object distributed processing, andparallel processing. Alternatively or in addition, virtual computersystem processing maybe constructed to implement one or more of themethods or functionality as described herein.

Although components and functions are described that may be implementedin particular embodiments with reference to particular standards andprotocols, the components and functions are not limited to suchstandards and protocols. For example, standards for Internet and otherpacket switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, andHTTP) represent examples of the state of the art. Such standards areperiodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents havingessentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards andprotocols having the same or similar functions as those disclosed hereinare considered equivalents thereof.

The illustrations described herein are intended to provide a generalunderstanding of the structure of various embodiments. The illustrationsare not intended to serve as a complete description of all of theelements and features of apparatus, processors, and systems that utilizethe structures or methods described herein. Many other embodiments maybe apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the disclosure.Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from the disclosure, suchthat structural and logical substitutions and changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, theillustrations are merely representational and may not be drawn to scale.Certain proportions within the illustrations may be exaggerated, whileother proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, the disclosure and thefigures are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the description. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope is to be determined by the broadestpermissible interpretation of the following claims and theirequivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoingdetailed description.

1-24. (canceled)
 25. An apparatus comprising at least one processor andat least one memory including computer program code, the at least onememory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor,cause the apparatus to at least: receive transaction data indicative ofa transaction, wherein the transaction data includes at least a firstpart indicative of a customer profile, a second part indicative of amerchant profile, and a third part indicative of a transaction amount;store the first part and the third part of the transaction data with acredit card profile based at least in part on a credit card numberassociated with the transaction; credit a unique rewards account,wherein the unique rewards account is selected based at least in part onthe transaction data; categorize a plurality of customer profiles or aplurality of credit card profiles; generate multi-dimensional matricescomprised of a plurality of nodes, each node indicating a probabilitythat a particularly categorized customer profile or credit card profilewould accept a particular offer; and utilize the multi-dimensionalmatrices to provide to a customer associated with the unique rewardsaccount a discount offering based on the particular offer.
 26. Theapparatus according to claim 25, wherein the at least one memory and thecomputer program code are further configured to, with the processor,cause the apparatus to: determine whether the customer is a registeredcustomer by: extracting the first part of the transaction data;searching the rewards database to identify unique rewards accountinformation corresponding to the customer profile associated with thefirst part of the transaction data; determine whether the merchant is aregistered merchant; extracting the second part of the transaction data;searching a merchant database to identify the merchant profileassociated with the second part of the transaction data in the merchantdatabase profile.
 27. The apparatus according to claim 26, furthercomprising: in an instance in which the customer is a non-registeredcustomer and the merchant is a registered merchant, the credit cardprofile is newly created utilizing a first part of the transaction data.28. The apparatus according to claim 25, further comprising: in aninstance in which the transaction data does not correspond to a uniquerewards account, the unique rewards account is newly created utilizingthe credit card profile before being credited.
 29. The apparatusaccording to claim 25, wherein the discount offering is associated witha promotion and comprises a promotion identifier and a promotion value,and wherein the discount offering is provided in an authorization codeauthorizing the transaction.
 30. The apparatus according to claim 25,wherein the unique rewards account is associated with unique rewardsaccount information that includes two or more of a credit card number, acustomer identifier, a merchant identifier, or a promotion.
 31. Theapparatus according to claim 25, wherein the at least one memory and thecomputer program code are further configured to, with the processor,cause the apparatus to: determine whether the merchant is registeredwith a promotion provider based at least on the second part of thetransaction data; and wherein the unique rewards account is creditedonly if the merchant is registered with the promotion provider.
 32. Amethod comprising: receiving transaction data indicative of atransaction, wherein the transaction data includes at least a first partindicative of a customer profile, a second part indicative of a merchantprofile, and a third part indicative of a transaction amount; storingthe first part and the third part of the transaction data with a creditcard profile based at least in part on a credit card number associatedwith the transaction; crediting a unique rewards account, wherein theunique rewards account is selected based at least in part on thetransaction data; categorizing a plurality of customer profiles or aplurality of credit card profiles; generating multi-dimensional matricescomprised of a plurality of nodes, each node indicating a probabilitythat a particularly categorized customer profile or credit card profilewould accept a particular offer; and utilizing the multi-dimensionalmatrices to provide to a customer associated with the unique rewardsaccount a discount offering based on the particular offer.
 33. Themethod of claim 32, further comprising: determining whether the customeris a registered customer by: extracting the first part of thetransaction data; searching the rewards database to identify uniquerewards account information corresponding to the customer profileassociated with the first part of the transaction data; determiningwhether the merchant is a registered merchant by: extracting the secondpart of the transaction data; searching a merchant database to identifythe merchant profile associated with the second part of the transactiondata in the merchant database.
 34. The method of claim 33, furthercomprising: in an instance in which the customer is a non-registeredcustomer and the merchant is a registered merchant, the credit cardprofile is newly created utilizing a first part of the transaction data.35. The method of claim 32, further comprising: in an instance in whichthe transaction data does not correspond to a unique rewards account,the unique rewards account is newly created utilizing the credit cardprofile before being credited.
 36. The method of claim 32, wherein thediscount offering is associated with a promotion and comprises apromotion identifier and a promotion value, and wherein the discountoffering is provided in an authorization code authorizing thetransaction.
 37. The method of claim 32, wherein the unique rewardsaccount is associated with unique rewards account information thatincludes two or more of a credit card number, a customer identifier, amerchant identifier, or a promotion.
 38. The method of claim 32, furthercomprising: determining whether the merchant is registered with apromotion provider based at least on the second part of the transactiondata; and wherein the unique rewards account is credited only if themerchant is registered with the promotion provider.
 39. A computerprogram product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium having computer-executable program code instructionsstored therein, the computer-executable program code instructionscomprising program code instructions for: receiving transaction dataindicative of a transaction, wherein the transaction data includes atleast a first part indicative of a customer profile, a second partindicative of a merchant profile, and a third part indicative of atransaction amount; storing the first part and the third part of thetransaction data with a credit card profile based at least in part on acredit card number associated with the transaction; crediting a uniquerewards account, wherein the unique rewards account is selected based atleast in part on the transaction data; categorizing a plurality ofcustomer profiles or a plurality of credit card profiles; generatingmulti-dimensional matrices comprised of a plurality of nodes, each nodeindicating a probability that a particularly categorized customerprofile or credit card profile would accept a particular offer; andutilizing the multi-dimensional matrices to provide to a customerassociated with the unique rewards account a discount offering based onthe particular offer.
 40. The computer program product according toclaim 39, wherein the computer-executable program code instructionsfurther comprise program code instructions for: determining whether thecustomer is a registered customer by: extracting the first part of thetransaction data; searching the rewards database to identify uniquerewards account information corresponding to the customer profileassociated with the first part of the transaction data; determiningwhether the merchant is a registered merchant by: extracting the secondpart of the transaction data; searching a merchant database to identifythe merchant profile associated with the second part of the transactiondata in the merchant database.
 41. The computer program productaccording to claim 40, further comprising: in an instance in which thecustomer is a non-registered customer and the merchant is a registeredmerchant, the credit card profile is newly created utilizing a firstpart of the transaction data.
 42. The computer program product accordingto claim 39, further comprising: in an instance in which the transactiondata does not correspond to a unique rewards account, the unique rewardsaccount is newly created utilizing the credit card profile before beingcredited.
 43. The computer program product according to claim 39,wherein the discount offering is associated with a promotion andcomprises a promotion identifier and a promotion value, and wherein thediscount offering is provided in an authorization code authorizing thetransaction.
 44. The computer program product of claim 39, wherein theunique rewards account is associated with unique rewards accountinformation that includes two or more of a credit card number, acustomer identifier, a merchant identifier, or a promotion.